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Top 10 Wrestling Stories of the Week 9/3: AEW All Out, NXT Makeover, More

By Matthew Fowler • Published 3rd September 2021

Welcome back TJR readers! Did you spend all day Friday preparing for twenty fantasy football drafts and missed Smackdown? Perhaps you were standing back because a hurricane was coming through, and missed Raw. Worry not, for I have returned with another edition of the Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week.

For this week, we’ll do nine stories and start it off with a somber note based on sad news from yesterday.

Former WCW/Impact Wrestling Star Daffney Passes Away

As anyone who has ever read my article knows, I always try to have fun and make people laugh. Unfortunately, sometimes things in the world just suck too much to make that possible. This past Wednesday night, former WCW/Impact star Daffney (Shannon Spruill) went live on her Instagram page and appeared to be suicidal. Authorities were called, but by the time they got to Spruill, it was too late. Spruill was only 46, and has been remembered fondly by much of the wrestling world since her passing. Please if you are feeling or know someone who may be suicidal call the National Suicide Prevention at 1-800-273-8255. (TJRWrestling)

9. Happy Corbin

Baron Corbin is officially no more. For the entire week following SummerSlam, Corbin posted videos of himself winning big in Las Vegas. Corbin then showed up to Smackdown last week cleanly shaven in a brand new Bentley and new clothes. Corbin was then interviewed backstage by Kayla Braxton, with Corbin asking Braxton to now refer to him as Happy Corbin. After a commercial break, Corbin then came to the ring to a brand new entrance theme. Happy Corbin then said that he was now filthy rich, and proceeded to call Big E down to the ring. Corbin then offered Big E $100,000 for the Money in the Bank briefcase. Big E quickly turned down Happy Corbin’s offer as “The Price is Wrong, Bitch!” (TJRWrestling)

8. NWA Has Two PPV’s

It was the biggest week for the NWA in many years. This past weekend the NWA put on not one but two PPV’s. On Saturday was the first-ever all-women’s NWA PPV called Empowerrr that was produced by wrestling legend Mickie James. The show saw Allisyn Kay and Marti Belle capture the NWA Women’s Tag Team Championship. Also on the show, Chelsea Greene won a gauntlet match, allowing her to challenge for the NWA Women’s Championship the very next night at NWA 73.

NWA 73 ended up being an even more historical PPV, with Ric Flair returning to the company that he helped make famous. Flair gave a lengthy promo where he thanked everyone from Vince McMahon to Tony Khan. Then in the main event of the evening, Trevor Murdoch defeated Nick Aldis to capture the NWA World Championship. Aldis held the title for an incredible 1044 days before the loss. Murdoch is of course a former WWE Tag Team Champion, and actually got his wrestling name because he looked like Sunny’s favorite wrestler. (TJRWrestling)

7. Charlotte and Nia Jax Start “Shooting” During Match

This week on Raw, a match between Charlotte and Nia Jax seemingly turned into a legitimate fight. Things seemingly begin breaking down in the match when Flair slapped Jax hard in the face, genuinely pissing off Jax. Jax then responded with a slap of her own before pushing Flair face down. They then separated briefly before Flair threw a big chop that Jax no sold completely. Charlotte responded by pushing at Jax’s face, and when she went to do it again, Jax told her “don’t.” Jax then hit Flair with a three punch combo. Charlotte appeared to briefly consider throwing a punch back, but instead went into an awkward sequence of not knowing what to do with each other. Flair and Jax were able to get back on the same page and finish the match as planned. Flair and Jax also reportedly had no more issues backstage, with Flair probably feeling that was the safest match she has ever had with Jax. (TJRWrestling)

6. NXT Gets a New Logo and Theme Song

The revamp of NXT has officially begun. This past week during Smackdown, WWE introduced a brand new logo for NXT. The new logo has a “paint-splattered” look, and completely gets away from the old black and gold colors. Along with the logo, a new theme song by rap star Wale was introduced as well. This change is believed to be the first of many to come, as NXT gets a complete makeover. Clearly, WWE is trying to give a younger hipper vibe to NXT, that all the kids will hopefully find Radical and Totally Tubular. (TJRWrestling)

5. Adam Cole is a Free Agent

One of the biggest stars ever in NXT is now a free agent. This week WWE reportedly sent out a memo stating that Adam Cole is no longer with the company. Cole’s contract reportedly ran out at after NXT Takeover 36, and he is now free to wrestle for any other company immediately. Cole is dating AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker and is also close friends with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, making AEW a strong possibility. Baker actually posted a short video on Twitter this week with Cole, where she stated that she gave him a dental exam, and he is officially cavity-free. We shall see if Cole can keep such good dental hygiene after all the dough he is about to have. (TJRWrestling)

4. WrestleMania 38 Reportedly to be Two Nights

One change that came out of the COVID era of WWE looks to be permanent. This week it was reported that when WrestleMania 38 takes place in Dallas, Texas in April of 2022, it will be a two-night event. For the first 35 years of WrestleMania, the event was always held over one night. Due to the pandemic, this was changed for both WrestleMania 36 and 37 with the events being held over two nights. As someone who was at WrestleMania 35, I love this idea, as the show was so long that I missed work on Wednesday. (TJRWrestling)

3. Vince McMahon and Bruce Pritchard to Produce NXT

A fancy new logo is not the biggest change to NXT that was reported this week. It was reported this week that when NXT goes back to live shows, they will be produced by Executive Director Bruce Pritchard and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon himself. Previously NXT has been primarily run by Triple H, who is an executive in WWE. This news unsurprisingly was not met with a lot of positivity, with many believing that this will be the end of NXT as we know it. I for one don’t see why everyone is so upset, as who better to give the company a fresh, younger makeover than one guy in his late 50’s and another man that just turned 76…pal. (TJRWrestling)

2. Becky Lynch Reportedly Turning Heel

One of the most popular superstars in WWE is reportedly turning heel. This past Friday on Smackdown, Becky Lynch came out to celebrate her title win at SummerSlam. Lynch stated that when it comes to what happened at SummerSlam, she was sorry for “absolutely nothing.” Former champion Bianca Belair then came out and challenged Lynch to a match for right then. Before Lynch could respond, Zelina Vega, Carmella and Liv Morgan all came down to the ring and challenged Lynch as well. Belair then told Lynch to ignore them and accept her challenge, with Lynch responding with “Nah.” Lynch then left while the other four women competed in a number one contender’s match. Belair ended up winning that match, and will get her match with Lynch at a future date. All of this is reportedly leading to Lynch turning heel. Anyone shocked by this heel turn clearly has not spent almost nine months with a newborn baby at home. (TJRWrestling)

1. AEW All Out Taking Place This Sunday

AEW’s next big PPV All Out is scheduled to take place this Sunday at 8PM ET from Chicago, IL. (Look for the TJRWrestling team preview later today!) The event has ten matches scheduled, including a huge double main event. In the first main event, Christian Cage will try to defeat Kenny Omega for a second time in less than a month when he faces him for the AEW World Championship. Also for the first time in over seven years, CM Punk will be competing inside a wrestling ring. Punk will face Darby Allin in front of a hometown crowd whose energy will likely be through the roof. If those two matches were not enough, it is also heavily reported that a certain “American Dragon” will also be appearing at the event. With all of this plus eight other matches, if you are still considering ordering the PPV I think the answer has to be “Yes” “Yes” “Yes”. (TJRWrestling)

That will conclude another edition of The Top Ten Wrestling Stories of the Week. Thank you for taking the time to read this each week. Although I often joke, I have recently started training to get in the ring at The Institute of Professional Wrestling and respect more than ever what wrestlers do every week. If you like what I do, despite my jokes being as bad as a Vince McMahon ran NXT, then feel free to listen to my brand new podcast The Smark and the Noob and follow me on Twitter @Fowlerwrestlin1 as well.